Editor’s Note: This story includes graphic descriptions some readers may find disturbing.
The week after Naresh Bhatt told news reporters he was “suffering” as authorities searched for his missing Virginia wife, he stood before a judge on Friday morning facing accusations he killed her inside their home and dragged her body outside in late July.
Naresh Bhatt has not been formally charged with murder in connection with the alleged killing of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old mother of two, court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WJLA show. He faces a felony charge of prohibition against concealment of a body and he was taken away in handcuffs Thursday after authorities executed a search warrant at the couple’s home.
In an interview with WUSA last week, Bhatt said he was worried about where his wife may be and it was not the first time she had gone missing.
“I’m the one who is suffering,” he told WUSA. “She is my baby’s mom. She is my wife. I’m the one suffering, so I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”
Bhatt was in court Friday morning for arraignment. The preliminary criminal complaint obtained by WJLA states, “on or about July 30, 2024, the accused, Naresh Bhatt, murdered his wife, Mamta Bhatt.”
CNN has reached out to the prosecutor’s office for comment on whether Bhatt faces upgraded charges to reflect the murder allegation made police.
Bhatt is a former US Army Reserve automated logistics specialist who served from June 2017 to February 2024, Army spokeswoman Heather Hagan told CNN Friday. He had no deployments and left the Army in the rank of specialist, she said.
Here’s a timeline of what we know about the investigation and Mamta Bhatt’s disappearance:
July 27
Kafle Bhatt was last seen on July 27 at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center in Manassas, according to police. She worked there as a registered nurse in the medical surgical unit, the center told CNN.
July 28
Mamta Bhatt last spoke to a friend on July 28, the same day she posted a final video on her TikTok account showing herself and her daughter, according to CNN affiliate WJLA.
“I last heard from her personally on July 28. She called me a couple times, but I was asleep. And I got a call from someone I met at Mamta’s baby shower and she asked me if I knew where Mamta was,” said Mamta’s former roommate, Nadia Navarro, according to WUSA.
“Mamta is not an impulsive person, she’s a very responsible person, she’s a very calm person. So to hear that she might be missing, I really doubt she would run away,” Navarro continued.
July 30
The criminal complaint says Naresh Bhatt murdered his wife “on or about” July 30 at their home in Manassas Park.
Investigators say Bhatt was seen at a Walmart on July 30 buying a pack of three knives, two of which were unaccounted for after the search warrant, according to WJLA. A day later, he was seen at another Walmart location buying cleaning supplies.
July 31
Naresh Bhatt says he last saw his wife on July 31, he told investigators in a later interview.
August 2
Police visited the couple’s home on August 2 after her co-workers at the UVA Health Prince William Medical Center called for a wellness check on August 1. Officials said Kafle Bhatt worked two days a week at the hospital and was expected to work on August 1 and 2 but got concerned after she did not call or show up to work.
When police spoke with Bhatt, he “provided additional information” and told investigators he did not want to report her as missing at the time, police said.
The wellness check request came from Kafle Bhatt’s work colleagues, CNN affiliate WUSA reported.
August 5-8
Three days after the police welfare check, Bhatt reported his wife missing and told police he last saw her at the dinner table on July 31. He said he had not seen her since and stopped cooperating with investigators, according to Manassas Park Police.
Detectives conducted an exhaustive investigation from August 5-8, they said, and found there was significant lack of recent contact between Kafle Bhatt and her family, friends, employer and on social media, so they elevated her missing status to involuntary/critical missing person status.
August 14
In an interview with WUSA on August 14, Bhatt said he ate dinner with Kafle Bhatt on July 31 when he last saw her. “It’s like, very tough,” he said.
“We ate on the evening of Wednesday. She was the one who cooked and do the kitchen stuff. We do not have any specific conversation. We do not have any argument or something like that,” said Bhatt.
Bhatt said his wife of three years is “a special person” who is “caring and loving.” She had gone missing three times before, he said, but it had never been such a long period of time.
“She did not come back and I just searched around. The next day, police came and police told me she was not at work and I was very serious because she’s the one who would never leave her work,” he said, according to WUSA.
In an interview with WUSA, Bhatt shared a message to his wife: “Hey, just come back. I’m myself and my baby, we are waiting like every second, every minute we are waiting. If you are listening, just, we are waiting here for you. We need you,” he said.
August 15
The Manassas Park Police Department sent out a news release asking for the public’s help in locating Mamta Kafle, releasing details about the August 2 wellness check at the couple’s home and Kafle Bhatt subsequently reporting her missing.
“While investigating the incident, officers initially determined that Mamta’s disappearance did not meet the Virginia State Police criteria for more than a missing person,” the release said.
“Officers then followed standard operating procedures and Mamta was entered as missing with Virginia State Police who operate the state-wide missing persons list and detectives then continued to investigate her disappearance.”
The state police then distributed the list to all law enforcement agencies in Virginia and other US states for assistance in finding Kafle Bhatt.
Detectives elevated Kafle Bhatt’s missing status to involuntary/critical missing person status after finding there was significant lack of recent contact between Kafle Bhatt and her family, friends, employer and on social media.
August 21
The couple’s home was searched by detectives on August 21, police said, though no details were provided at the time about evidence leading to Bhatt’s arrest.
Investigators have executed 10 search warrants and conducted “hundreds of interviews related to this case,” Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said during a news conference the same day, as a search warrant on the Bhatt residence was underway.
When asked Wednesday if there was a “person of interest” in Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance, Lugo said her husband has “been a point of interest and everybody knows that.”
The chief said Bhatt has not been cooperative with police, a departure from the department’s initial release on August 15, where they said, “the husband, friends and co-workers have all been cooperative throughout the investigation and detectives will continue to follow up on all investigative leads to locate Mamta Kafle.”
August 22
Bhatt was taken away in handcuffs outside the couple’s home the following morning, on August 22, according to video from CNN affiliate WJLA.
An infant was also carried out of the home under a yellow blanket, video shows, and police say the couple’s young daughter is being looked after by a caregiver approved by the Department of Social Services.
In a news release from August 21, Manassas Park Police Chief Lugo said: “While I acknowledge and respect the public concern for answers, I assure each of you that although these ‘answers’ are limited by this continuing to be an active and ongoing process, this investigation remains a top priority, and our agency remains committed to providing details as we are able.”
Lugo also encouraged the community to “continue providing any and all information that may assist us with this investigation.”
August 23
Court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WJLA show Kafle Bhatt is accused of killing his wife, citing evidence “in the residence indicating the body was inside the residence and dragged out of the residence,” a handwritten addition to the statement says, signed with what appeared to be the charging law enforcement officer’s initials.
“During the course of this investigation, a substantial amount of digital and forensic evidence consistent with her death was recovered,” the complaint says.
During his arraignment on August 23, the judge didn’t change the terms of Bhatt’s bail and he will continue to be held without it, according to WJLA. Bhatt is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing on August 26, online court records show.
The defense told the judge Naresh does not have a history of violence. His attorney noted Naresh has not confessed and argued there is insufficient evidence to prove his guilt, WJLA reported.
The Prince William County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney revealed details during the arraignment about what investigators found inside the couple’s home while executing a search warrant.
Investigators say Bhatt made a number of inconsistent statements about his wife’s whereabouts, WJLA reported, and claimed she destroyed her own cell phone before disappearing.
After completing their search warrant, investigators found what appeared to be blood pooling and blood splatter in the home’s main bedroom; the bed appeared to be moved, blocking a closet; and light pink stains were found on bedroom carpeting after the bed was removed, WJLA reported.
Additionally, pools of blood were found in the bathroom “as if something was dragged across the floor,” along with blood pooling on the shower floor, WJLA reported from Friday’s arraignment.
When investigators removed the bathtub, they saw what they believed to be blood in the caulking of the bathtub, WJLA reported.
A number of the cleaning supplies Bhatt purchased were also found in the home, which appeared to be in disarray, according to law enforcement details revealed at the arraignment, WJLA said.
Authorities said Bhatt sold his Tesla on August 19, and the house appeared to be disheveled, with a suitcase packed, items missing from hangers, WJLA reported.
Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the incorrect date of the first police wellness check at the family’s home. It was conducted on August 2.
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